


Fire Breathers

by tielan



Series: Fire And Ice: MCU Jaeger AU [2]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fusion, Alternate Universe - Jaegers, Alternate Universe - Pacific Rim Fusion, Female Friendship, Friendship, Gen, Girls' Night Out, Hazing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-10
Updated: 2016-06-10
Packaged: 2018-07-14 08:04:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,117
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7161629
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tielan/pseuds/tielan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“Everyone gets the Fire-Breather treatment the first time they’re out,” Carol says. “Only Maria <i>likes</i> it.”</p><p>Maria points the mouth of the bottle at Pepper. “It takes some getting used to.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	Fire Breathers

**Author's Note:**

  * For [hiddencait](https://archiveofourown.org/users/hiddencait/gifts).



> Previous fic: [Not The Standard Model](http://archiveofourown.org/works/7011121).
> 
> Ladies' Bingo square: WILDCARD (Initiation/Hazing)

There’s a rap at the conference room door, and Pepper glances up from the disarray of papers across the table to see Maria leaning against the entryway.

“Hey, how did it go?”

The chair isn’t particularly comfortable – someone else’s butt has worn a dent in the cushion that doesn’t suit Pepper’s smaller frame – but she leans back into it because it’s been a long day. “So far as I can tell, the expenditure is about what we expected. Projected income streams seem acceptable, and the running costs are negligble compared with the output. You’ve just switched off, haven’t you?”

“Not quite.” Maria flashes a brief grin and steps into the room. “I know what projected income streams are. I just don’t really care. And...I came to see what you’re doing tonight – if you’re heading back across town straight away.”

Pepper’s learned to read people pretty well in her years working for Tony. She recognises when someone’s stepping out of her comfort zone to make an offer. And in spite of the occasional emails back and forth between them since Hong Kong, she imagines this is out of Maria Hill’s comfort zone. So she smiles, encouraging.

“Depends what I’m offered as an alternative.”

“Well, not much really. A bunch of the ‘Dome women are going out – we have a monthly ‘drink together, stick together, avoid the assholes, no guys allowed’ night. It happens to be tonight, and…I thought I might return the favour from the PPDC function.”

It’s been nearly two months since the _Steel Patriot_ launch and the dinner, and Pepper enjoyed the function all the more for having Maria there, making quiet and droll comments beneath her breath, dropping the most wicked tidbits of information about various people, and generally being good company.

“It’s not what you’re used to,” Maria says hastily, and Pepper realises she’s hesitated a fraction too long over her reply.

“You’d be surprised what I’ve seen.” Pepper hasn’t always worked for the rich and famous Tony Stark. “Sure, I’d love to come. Time? Place? Dress code?”

“In about an hour in the city. We’ll truck in as a group. You’re probably a little dressy for where we’re going – smart casual is probably best – but we can rustle you up some clothing that will probably fit.”

“I have a change of clothes with me.” She’d been contemplating going down to the old markets for a while, and brought appropriate streetwear. At least, Pepper thinks of it as appropriate streetwear.

However, when she meets the other women from the ‘Dome, it only takes one look for Pepper to realise that ‘a little dressy’ was an understatement. Even in her version of appropriate streetwear, she’s going to stick out like a flamingo among alley cats. ‘Smart casual’ around here clearly means more ‘casual’ than ‘smart’, and as it is Pepper’s _still_ going to stand out.

Still, it helps that the women are most definitely individuals themselves.

“So, these are Akela, Lilian, Carol, Abby, Danira, Tehani, Jess, and Surita. You don’t have to remember everyone right off the bat.”

“After a couple of drinks, though, there’s a test.” One of the women – Lilian – tosses a short purple fringe out of her eyes and twinkles at Pepper.

They pile into the bed of one of the trucks that’s heading in downtown, chatting and laughing and exchanging ‘Dome intel.

Pepper finds herself the focus of attention when the other women realise she was in Vladivostok only last week, and got to see the new Russian Jaeger on its way out to patrol. Unfortunately, she’s unable to provide the women present with the kind of technical details they were hoping for.

“I heard that the torque ratios on _Scarlet Cypher’s_ swings are amazing,” says a woman with warm red-gold undertones to the rich umber of her skin – Tehani. “Some engineering wizard who worked out how to balance out power and flexibility. Word is that she’ll be something else in battle.”

“You’ll have to excuse us,” says one woman running a hand through her asymmetrical bob of blonde-streaked hair – Carol, Pepper, thinks. “We’re mostly engineering, so we’re more interested in the geeky details than the gossip.”

“Although I’m kind of surprised at the name,” someone comments, tucked up against the cab. “Seems a little feminine for the Russians...”

“I don’t see the problem of having some more feminine around here,” says someone else. “Given that we’re putting out a Jaeger by the name of _Captain America_.”

“A captain can be female,” Carol reminds them.

“Yeah, but all the pilot pairings up for that Jaeger are male. More’s the pity.”

“I still can’t believe the PPDC let us _name_ it that!”

“I’m more stunned that Rumlow and Rollins are still in the running to pilot it. They’re assholes.”

“Unfortunately,” says the woman on the other side of Maria, “they’re assholes with a really good Drift score.”

“Surely they can’t be as good as Rogers and Barnes, though. Those two are freaky. Sorry,” the speaker says to Maria, “but they _are_.”

“They can be disconcerting at times,” is Maria’s answer, calm and decidedly non-committal. “And the reason Rumlow and Rollins are still in the running is that they have solid political backing. For some members of the PPDC, that counts for more than good Drift scores.”

“Which is complete and utter bullshit,” says Carol, disgusted. “What kind of dickhead thinks, ‘when the world comes to an end, I really want the people saving it to have good political connections’?”

“Three words,” says the woman who made the ‘freaky’ comment, “Director General Pierce.”

A discussion ensues about politics and policies in the PPDC and in the various Shatterdomes around the Pacific Rim, and Pepper is treated to some very frank opinions that she’s never heard voiced quite so bluntly before. A glance at Maria shows her listening but not offering her opinion unless a direct appeal is made to her.

They reach their destination – a neon-lit bar with music pumping and a full parking lot – and are just climbing out of the truck when Maria taps a hand to her jacket pocket – her phone is buzzing.

“That had better not be a _kaiju_ ,” says Akela – dark skinned, dark-haired, dark-eyed.

“The sirens would be up by now if it were,” says Tehani as Maria pulls it out. Pepper glimpses the name and photo of the caller and her brows lift, even as Maria’s finger hovers over the swipe before she rejects the call.

“It’s nothing,” she tells the other women.

“If you say so,” says Carol, although her expression plainly doesn’t believe Maria’s dismissal.

Pepper waits until the others have moved on towards the door. “I’m a little intrigued as to how Steve Rogers calling you is considered ‘nothing’.”

Maria sighs. “We’ve become friendly. It really is nothing. He and Barnes are up to their necks in groupies as you’d expect for a couple of pilot potentials.”

“Especially such good-looking ones.”

“Yeah.” Does Pepper detect a note of resignation in Maria’s voice? Maybe. She’s not sure she knows the other woman well enough to say at this stage, but there seems to be an element of ‘the lady protests too much’ in Maria’s arguments. Especially since Pepper recalls that there’s a PPDC meeting in Hong Kong right now to determine who’s going to be piloting the three new Mark IIs and if Steve Rogers has called Maria at this point in time…

“Wait,” she says, touching Maria’s arm. “You should call him back. It might be about _Captain America_ and the decision on the pilots. You want to know, right?”

“They’ll announce it publically,” Maria says, but if the hesitation on her face is fleeting, it’s still visible by the harsh pink of the neon signage above them. “Ah, fuck.” She stalks away to the edge of the parking lot, pulling out the phone and presumably making the call.

Pepper watches the body language – the almost defiant tuck of the other woman’s hand under her arm, the way Maria leans away from the phone, casual – or aiming for it, even though the man on the other end of the line can’t see her.

“What’s up?” Carol asks, coming up beside Pepper.

“She’s calling him back.”

They watch as Maria starts talking into the phone, her boots kicking at the bitumen like she’s a nervous kid. The conversation isn’t audible, and Maria isn’t facing them, so there’s no facial cues; but there’s something in the way she holds herself, like she’s trying not to lean into the conversation, not to get caught up in the enthusiasm of the person on the other end.

“How serious is it?” Pepper asks Carol.

“Enough that she’d rather not take his calls while anyone’s around.” Carol looks like she’s not sure whether to laugh or grimace. “If he didn’t matter, she wouldn’t care. Unfortunately, pilot potentials get the rep for good reason, and Maria is never going to be a Jaegerfly.”

“Maybe Captain Rogers doesn’t want a Jaegerfly.”

Carol snorts. “He’s a guy with a working dick who likes women, right?”

Pepper’s thinking that Steve Rogers chose to call Maria in the minutes between decision and announcement out of a world full of people. A guy with a working dick who likes women and could probably have a queue outside his door with nothing more than a smile doesn't call one specific woman before a life-changing event unless she matters.

She doesn’t say this, however, since Maria’s finished the call and is coming back to them. Her smile is a little sheepish. “They’ve made a decision, and the announcement’s going to be made in the next five minutes. He thinks they have a pretty good chance.”

“Awesome!” Carol slings an arm around each of their shoulders, “Then we’d better be inside when they broadcast it so we get the free round!”

They get into the club via the VIP door - this bar shows its appreciation for the PPDC by letting Shatterdome employees in as VIPs, while Pepper gets brought in as Maria’s guest – and find half the women already settling themselves into a booth while the others queue for drinks.

“So, Potts, what’ll it be?”

Pepper glances over at Maria who’s seating herself next to Lilian, “What are you having?”

“I was thinking of a cider. Fire-Breather if they’ve got it.”

Pepper figures she can do a cider, and tells Carol, “Two.”

Carol grins. “Good choice.” She looks at Maria. “You want a chaser on top?”

“Yeah, better.”

A call goes up from behind the bar as the screens all switch over to the 24-hour PPDC channel where UN Director General Pierce is standing in a three-piece suit behind a podium at the Hong Kong Shatterdome, with the lineup of PPDC officials behind them. Posters of the four Jaegers being assigned out are hanging high on the backdrop, and the room is full of camera flashes, like the red carpet premieres so beloved of LA before the _kaiju_ came.

“Yeah, yeah,” says Surita as Pierce starts talking about the work and the efforts of the PPDC towards the future of the world, “blah blah blah, kiss the babies, quit the speechifying, you old windbag!”

Pepper grins as someone else in the bar yells at the screen – _hurry up and tell us who got which Jaeger, you blowhard_ – and glances at Maria, who’s rubbing her thumb against her index and middle fingers.

But Pierce seems to have come to the end of his spiel, and is starting the part that everyone wants to hear – the decisions on which pilot pairs will be driving the Mark IIIs about to take to the sea.

Elizabeth Braddock and Kwannon Lu are named for Japan’s _Ninja Violet_ , Julio Esteban and Roberto da Costa are chosen for Argentina’s _Magma Quake_ , and Russia’s _Scarlet Cypher_ goes to Yelena Belova and Natasha Romanova. With each announcement, the pilots emerge from the backdrop, to stand at the front of the stage and face the world they’re going to be protecting from the Conn-Pod of a Jaeger.

“And, finally, the PPDC Jaeger Marshalls have the great honour of assigning Rangers James Barnes and Steve Rogers for the American Jaeger, _Captain America_!”

“So your boyfriend’s a pilot now,” Jess says, pushing her hair back over her ear. “Better get him a leash!”

“He’s not my boyfriend,” Maria says, rather coolly. “And if I had to leash him for him to be my boyfriend, he wouldn’t be my boyfriend anymore.”

Jess doesn’t seem deterred by the chill factor. “Ooh, harsh.”

“Well, no real surprises there, I guess,” says Surita, casually. “Romanova and Belova were always going to get the Russian Jaeger, and the others aren’t too surprising when you think about the politics around the Jaeger program. What’s the buzz, Abs?”

Abby has taken her phone out and is scrolling through social media sites. “Generally good. The usual MRAs whinging about too many women, a couple of racists going on about Esteban and da Costa...” Pepper resists the urge to pull out her own phone, although she sees Maria taking hers out to glance at a message that’s just appeared on the lock screen.

_Did you see the news? We got it!_

A glance up at the TV shows…well, well. Steve Rogers with his phone in his hand.

Pepper hides a smile, particularly as Maria texts something back, then adjusts the settings and puts her phone face-down on the table. When she catches Pepper’s eye, her expression turns sheepish. Meanwhile, up on the screen, Rogers glances at his phone and grins, then slides it into his pocket again as people surround them with congratulations and advice, eager to imprint themselves on the minds of the new pilots before the world goes crazy over them.

“Should I ask what you said?”

One corner of Maria’s mouth tilts upwards. “I told him to put his phone away.” Her eyes shift beyond Pepper and the next minute Carol, Tehani, and Danira are handing out the drinks.

“There’s your Fire-Breathers,” Carol slides the bottles in front of Pepper and Maria, then sits down across from them as Tehani and Danira hand out the drinks they brought back and take their seat.

Hands slide the bottles and glasses across the table top to the centre, and Pepper imitates it. When in Rome...

“To our new Jaegers!” Lilian says, the stud in her lip gleaming by the bar lighting.

“And their pilots! Thank God – about time we got a few more of the oestrogen brigade into the Conn-Pod. It’s been all men for the last two selections.”

“To the pilots and their Jaegers, _and_ the to PPDC,” Maria says, and tilts her bottle so the neck taps against the crush of glasses. “May the _kaiju_ choke on humanity!”

Pepper puts the bottle to her mouth and drinks.

_Cider_ , Maria said, and Pepper imagined something easy and apple-ish.

What she gets is a mouthful of  _fire_ . Spicy and sweet and tangy, it explodes on her tastebuds, unexpected and shocking. She chokes, managing to cover her mouth so she doesn’t spit it all over the others at the table, but then it just fuzzes out her nose, and she coughs, gags, and sputters until she can breathe air. Her tongue and throat are still tingling, though, and she wants nothing more than to drink a gallon of water, never mind that it probably won’t help.

Around her, the women are grinning broadly, and Pepper gives Maria the saltiest look she has.

“Chaser?” Maria offers her a small shot glass of something creamy and milky.

“Is it poison?”

“Not quite. Trust me and sip.”

She trusts and sips. Whatever’s in the cup, it’s a lot smoother than the Fire-Breather and somehow manages to ease back the tingling in her throat.

“That was mean,” she says on a long, slow exhale.

The women grin.

“Everyone gets the Fire-Breather treatment the first time they’re out,” Carol says. “Only Maria likes it.”

Maria points the mouth of the bottle at Pepper. “It takes some getting used to.”

Lilian makes a snorting noise from the corner. “And you have an iron gut.”

“It helps. But most people don’t bother getting used to it.” Maria glances at Pepper and takes another drink, almost deliberately.

Pepper’s not one to pick up the gauntlet just because it’s been thrown down, but this time she can’t resist. She grasps the bottle by the neck and takes a more careful swig.

This time, it still burns fiery on her tongue and down her throat, but now that she’s ready for that, the flavour comes through – fruity and spicy and rather nice. She swallows, takes a moment to breathe, and manages. “Okay. I think I’m still getting used to it. But it’s not terrible.”

“B-minus, would drink again?” Carol laughs. “Hey, this is nothing on the hazing they used to give back in the Air Force...”

The conversation turns to hazings and pranks in the Shatterdome – some of them mild, some of them elaborate, and a few of them humiliating. “Most of the Marshals don’t tolerate the humiliating ones,” Maria says to Pepper. “A few crack down on the messy ones, too.”

“I remember Rhodey said something about it.” Pepper recalls the conversation quite clearly, Rhodey pacing the floor by the windows, while Tony gave her an very unexpected foot massage. “Marshall Hand told the Sydney ‘Dome it was a dick move?”

“Hand’s a hard taskmaster,” Akela observes. “But she’s good at keeping the PPDC off her people’s backs. Not all of them are.”

“Not the friendly type, though.”

“She’s a Marshal of the PPDC,” Lilian protests. “She’s not in it to be friendly.”

“I’m just saying, she has a back-off cloak that would send a _kaiju_ running.” Jess downs the last of her beer. “And I guess it’s my round. Anyone? Potts? You can’t tell me you’re going to nurse that all night.”

She’s gotten three-quarters of the way through the Fire-Breather, and it’s growing on her. But yes, she would like something a little less spicy – something more in her usual vein. “Chardonnay?”

“Fancy,” Jess comments. “Hill?”

Maria glances at Pepper and smiled. “Same here.”

Tehani laugh ripples out beneath the hum of the music. “Going to try something new, Maria?”

“Broaden my horizons.”

When the wine comes, Pepper taps her glass to Maria’s. “To new things.”

She wasn’t expecting the wine to be particularly good, but this one has a lovely gold fruitiness to it, with a crisp finish. And it is a little gratifying when Maria blinks before swallowing.

“It takes some getting used to,” she says with a perfectly straight face.

Maria’s mouth curves, and lifts her glass in a little toast.

 

**Author's Note:**

> Related fic: [In From The Cold](http://archiveofourown.org/works/7272079) \- Natasha Romanoff & Clint Barton


End file.
